Developing Counselling series – serie

`This is a useful book for those who use person-centred counselling in their practice, or who are training to become person-centred counsellors' - Counselling and Psychotherapy, the Journal of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy

Developing Person-Centred Counselling, Second Edition is designed to help counsellors improve their skills within the person-centred approach. Written by Dave Mearns, leading person-centred expert and bestselling author, the Second Edition has been fully revised and updated taking account of developments in person-centred practice.

With new chapters on growth and transference, the book covers the subjects which are central to person-centred training:

} the core conditions

} therapeutic alliance

} development of the counsellor

} therapeutic process

} the person-centred approach in relation to psychopathology.

Supported by case material and examples from practice, each part of the book presents the counsellor with practical, and often challenging ideas, which encourage him/her to think carefully about his/her practice and how to improve it.

Developing Person-Centred Counselling, Second Edition is a highly practical and inspiring resource for trainees and practitioners alike.

`In this eminently sensible, practical and thought-provoking book, Jennifer Mackewn takes gestalt light years forward towards a synthesis and integration of psychological styles and away from what she describes as "Perlism". I agree with her: this is a book for therapists, not principally for gestaltists... In inviting the reader to "pick and choose" from the many and varied, always practical, hands-on approach chapters... Jennifer Mackewn hopes we will both enjoy her book and find it of use. This reader, commending the book to you all, has no doubt that both her hopes will be fulfilled' - Self & Society

Describing contemporary integrative Gestalt counselling and psychotherapy, this book addresses 30 key issues which will help both trainee and practising counsellors examine and improve crucial areas of their work.

The field theoretical and relational model which underpins the book suggests that therapy is a complex process which requires therapists to be intuitive and self-aware while engaging in a number of interrelated therapeutic tasks. The importance of meeting clients person-to-person in a meaningful relationship is highlighted. Jennifer Mackewn encourages counsellors to focus on areas that they may feel need special attention, and shows them how to blend their skills into a subtle and versatile art form. The book covers vital aspects of Gestalt counselling and psychotherapy, such as: appreciating the significance of beginnings; understanding the client's context; the dialogic relationship; contact and awareness; exploring life themes and support systems; and experimental and creative methods.

`In this eminently sensible, practical and thought-provoking book, Jennifer Mackewn takes gestalt light years forward towards a synthesis and integration of psychological styles and away from what she describes as "Perlism". I agree with her: this is a book for therapists, not principally for gestaltists... In inviting the reader to "pick and choose" from the many and varied, always practical, hands-on approach chapters... Jennifer Mackewn hopes we will both enjoy her book and find it of use. This reader, commending the book to you all, has no doubt that both her hopes will be fulfilled' - Self & Society

Describing contemporary integrative Gestalt counselling and psychotherapy, this book addresses 30 key issues which will help both trainee and practising counsellors examine and improve crucial areas of their work.

The field theoretical and relational model which underpins the book suggests that therapy is a complex process which requires therapists to be intuitive and self-aware while engaging in a number of interrelated therapeutic tasks. The importance of meeting clients person-to-person in a meaningful relationship is highlighted. Jennifer Mackewn encourages counsellors to focus on areas that they may feel need special attention, and shows them how to blend their skills into a subtle and versatile art form. The book covers vital aspects of Gestalt counselling and psychotherapy, such as: appreciating the significance of beginnings; understanding the client's context; the dialogic relationship; contact and awareness; exploring life themes and support systems; and experimental and creative methods.

Seminars by Professor Windy Dryden. See the man live and in action. To find out more and to book your place go to www.cityminds.com

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`[This book has] many useful insights for other therapists... make a copy of the competency checklist: if we all scored highly and consistently, there would be no need for talk of "national registration" ' - The Therapist

In this volume the authors develop the cognitive-behavioural counselling approach by offering newer conceptualizations of many common client problems. It is suggested that effective interventions will often need to take account of early maladaptive interpretations of situations and of the presence of personality disorders.

The specifics of tackling problems as diverse as surviving in a family with a personality disordered member and post-traumatic stress disorder are elaborated, and recent developments in the counselling of clients with anxiety and depression are also incorporated. Hitherto neglected issues such as the use of groups and the assessment of counsellor competence are also highlighted.

`This is an excellent book. Whilst specifically aimed at the "newer counsellor", this book contains much that will be of interest to experienced practitioners both within and outside of TA... this book is an excellent guide to implementing TA techniques and treatment planning particularly from a process model perspective. It incorporates many new ideas which will make it refreshing and inspiring for both new and experienced counsellors and psychotherapists' - ITA News

This concise workbook provides 30 practical suggestions to help practising counsellors develop and enhance their Transactional Analysis (TA) counselling skills.

After a brief introductory section that summarizes the essentials of TA theory and technique, the book covers crucial aspects of best practice in current TA, many of them unavailable in book form until now. Presenting new and wide-ranging material, each of the 30 suggestions - which are supported by useful case examples - encourages both experienced and trainee counsellors to think carefully about their work and how it can be made even more effective. Ian Stewart provides much-needed practical guidance to such key areas as contract-making, time-frames and the Process Model.

Seminars by Professor Windy Dryden. See the man live and in action. To find out more and to book your place go to www.cityminds.com

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`It is a fairly well established clich[ac]e that while supervision is recognised as a crucial component of good practice in psychotherapy and counselling, there is correspondingly little written about it... [this book is] a good step in redressing the balance... It is a practical, didactic and generic view of how to do supervision... giving a fairly comprehensive account of 30 of the formal skills that all supervisors probably use whether consciously or not... The book discusses each of the skills, giving examples as well as practical suggestions as to how to approach difficult issues... directed principally at counsellors, it is a book to dip into when faced with a panic about a specific issue' - Therapeutic Communities

Supervision is a professional and ethical necessity for all counsellors, providing them with consultative and supportive aid while protecting clients from potential abuse - yet relatively little has been written on the subject. This volume aims to redress that balance.

Encouraging, yet sensitive to the difficult issues that frequently arise in supervision, the book contains practical suggestions, plus useful appendices, to help practising and trainee supervisors develop and enhance the skills they need to be successful in their work. The authors cover such key areas as creating a supervisory alliance, fostering the supervisory relationship, the use of tape-recording, highlighting supervisees' strengths and weaknesses, and protecting the client and counsellor.

Seminars by Professor Windy Dryden. See the man live and in action. To find out more and to book your place go to www.cityminds.com

________________________________________

`It is a fairly well established clich[ac]e that while supervision is recognised as a crucial component of good practice in psychotherapy and counselling, there is correspondingly little written about it... [this book is] a good step in redressing the balance... It is a practical, didactic and generic view of how to do supervision... giving a fairly comprehensive account of 30 of the formal skills that all supervisors probably use whether consciously or not... The book discusses each of the skills, giving examples as well as practical suggestions as to how to approach difficult issues... directed principally at counsellors, it is a book to dip into when faced with a panic about a specific issue' - Therapeutic Communities

Supervision is a professional and ethical necessity for all counsellors, providing them with consultative and supportive aid while protecting clients from potential abuse - yet relatively little has been written on the subject. This volume aims to redress that balance.

Encouraging, yet sensitive to the difficult issues that frequently arise in supervision, the book contains practical suggestions, plus useful appendices, to help practising and trainee supervisors develop and enhance the skills they need to be successful in their work. The authors cover such key areas as creating a supervisory alliance, fostering the supervisory relationship, the use of tape-recording, highlighting supervisees' strengths and weaknesses, and protecting the client and counsellor.

Seminars by Professor Windy Dryden. See the man live and in action. To find out more and to book your place go to www.cityminds.com

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`The format is easy to access and stimulates reflection on practice' - International Review of Psychiatry

This volume contains 30 useful hints and reminders to help both trainee and practising counsellors examine and improve key areas of their work. The book encourages counsellors to focus on areas that they may feel need special attention, covering topics such as the formation of an ethical and productive alliance, working with effective tasks and goals, identifying and addressing clients' obstacles to change, and developing professional knowledge and self-reflection.

`This book deals with many aspects of psychodynamic counselling from the minutiae of the extrinsic context, such as decor, through the "therapeutic stance of attentive reserve" on to an elaboration of the elements of a therapeutic relationship... the book is liberally garnished with case studies... informative and thought-provoking... a useful resource to those teaching psychodynamic principles... If you are new to psychodynamic work, this book could be a safe and helpful guide... The ideas and techniques offered by the author may also prove intriguing and even inspiring to those (like me) from a different therapeutic orientation' - The International Journal of Social Psychiatry

Psychodynamic counselling has developed from the psychoanalytic tradition inaugurated by Freud. At its core is a belief in the role of the unconscious in the development of conflict and disturbance, which may be resolved through the careful unfolding of the therapeutic relationship via the transference/counter-transference dynamic and within a defined setting.

Integrating theory and context, this book explores the opportunities for counsellors to develop their own practice of psychodynamic counselling. The author encourages readers to look carefully at the way they work and to think about strategies to improve their skills in a specialized form of relating. He examines areas crucial to the psychodynamic approach, including internal and external settings, working with issues around boundaries, and transference and counter-transference.

`This book deals with many aspects of psychodynamic counselling from the minutiae of the extrinsic context, such as decor, through the "therapeutic stance of attentive reserve" on to an elaboration of the elements of a therapeutic relationship... the book is liberally garnished with case studies... informative and thought-provoking... a useful resource to those teaching psychodynamic principles... If you are new to psychodynamic work, this book could be a safe and helpful guide... The ideas and techniques offered by the author may also prove intriguing and even inspiring to those (like me) from a different therapeutic orientation' - The International Journal of Social Psychiatry

Psychodynamic counselling has developed from the psychoanalytic tradition inaugurated by Freud. At its core is a belief in the role of the unconscious in the development of conflict and disturbance, which may be resolved through the careful unfolding of the therapeutic relationship via the transference/counter-transference dynamic and within a defined setting.

Integrating theory and context, this book explores the opportunities for counsellors to develop their own practice of psychodynamic counselling. The author encourages readers to look carefully at the way they work and to think about strategies to improve their skills in a specialized form of relating. He examines areas crucial to the psychodynamic approach, including internal and external settings, working with issues around boundaries, and transference and counter-transference.

Seminars by Professor Windy Dryden. See the man live and in action. To find out more and to book your place go to www.cityminds.com

________________________________________

`[This book has] many useful insights for other therapists... make a copy of the competency checklist: if we all scored highly and consistently, there would be no need for talk of "national registration" ' - The Therapist

In this volume the authors develop the cognitive-behavioural counselling approach by offering newer conceptualizations of many common client problems. It is suggested that effective interventions will often need to take account of early maladaptive interpretations of situations and of the presence of personality disorders.

The specifics of tackling problems as diverse as surviving in a family with a personality disordered member and post-traumatic stress disorder are elaborated, and recent developments in the counselling of clients with anxiety and depression are also incorporated. Hitherto neglected issues such as the use of groups and the assessment of counsellor competence are also highlighted.